Mātauranga Māori

There are two general types of distance measurement in mātauranga Māori, those based on the human body and those based on measuring stick or rope.[16] The human based measurement system included many different units, such as 'maro' which was the span of the arms outstretched horizontally. It is suspected that these systems were only of local use due to variation between people. The 'kumi' was the length of ten 'maro', this is the only recorded multiplier in mātauranga. Our evidence of the human-based system is highly reliant on the anthropologist Elsdon Best.[17]

The measuring-rod (rauru) was a way of preserving a particular human dimension. Some rauru were passed down through the generations as sacred objects and recorded the dimensions of import ancestors. Ropes were also used in measurement, particularly in the construction of building's floor plans.[16]

Mātauranga uses astronomical observations, primarily of the Sun and Moon to measure time.[18] The Moon's phases are used to define the main subdivision of the year (maramataka). The timing of the New Year varied regionally across New Zealand, but was often based around the Pleiades star cluster (Matariki). Some iwi, for example, used the first new moon after the appearance of Matariki as the start of the new year.[18] The different lunar cycles of the year and the four recognised seasons were used to plan agriculture and activities, such as fishing.[18]

Wooden carved door displaying the coat of arms for the Māori kings (Te Paki o Matariki), which includes a depiction of the constellation Matariki (Pleiades).

By the time that European settlers arrived, Māori had large plantations of kūmara growing in many parts of New Zealand. According to Māori oral history, kūmara were not on board the original canoes that settled New Zealand, but were introduced following multiple return voyages into the Pacific.[23] Kūmara were traditionally grown as far south as Banks Peninsula. This is approximately 1,000 km further south than kūmara had been grown anywhere else in the world. The variety grown by Māori prior to the 19th century had a white skin and whitish flesh, unlike today's purple or orange-skinned varieties. The pre-European varieties grown by Māori can be left in the ground year-round in the tropics, but in the cool conditions of New Zealand, the tubers will spoil if left in cold soil over winter and spring. A wide range of techniques were developed to ensure reliable production, including careful choice of growing locations, drainage, the application of mulch and other materials to increase soil temperatures, the construction of walls to shelter the crop from the wind, and the lifting and careful storage of tubers during winter.[24]

One notable woman was Wahakaotirangi, whose name translates to "completion from the sky".[25] As one of New Zealand's first scientists, Wahakaotirangi brought kumara to the Waikato region. When in Waikato, Wahakaotirangi built gardens in which she experimented with growing edible and medicinal plants, in particular studying how to make the kumara grow in its cooler climate. This was an essential innovation for the Tainui people of Waikato, as it provided them a reliable and sustainable source of food. Wahakaotirangi was also a part of the invention and launch of the Tainui canoe.[26]

Karaka fruit can cause paralysis when eaten. To avoid this Māori would cook them and then soak them in water. William Skey isolated the poisonous compound, which was shown to be destroyed at temperatures over 100°C.[27]

Another notable woman was Pirongia-te-aroaro-ō-Kahu, or more commonly known as Kahupeka. Following her husband's death and her own illness, she journeyed across King Country and studied the medicinal uses of native plants such as harakeke, koromiko, kawakawa, and rangiora. Kahupeka's experiments helped the Māori people towards properly utilizing hundreds of different medicinal plants.[28]

Archeology and quaternary geology show that New Zealand's natural environment changed significantly during the period of precolonial Māori occupation. This has led some academics to question the effectiveness of Māori traditional knowledge in managing the environment.[33][34] The environmental changes are similar to those following human occupation in other parts of the world, including deforestation (approximately 50%), the loss of the megafauna, more general species extinctions and soil degradation due to agriculture. The models favoured by academics today describe precolonial Māori as accessing resources based on ease of access and energy return. This would have involved moving from one location or food source to another when the original one had become less rewarding. Historically, academic models on precolonial environmental stewardship have been closely tied to the idea of the 'Noble Savage' and the now-debunked hypothesis of multiple ethnicities being responsible for different aspects of New Zealand's archeological record.[33][34]

After the Māori Renaissance, Māori academics campaigned for the creation of independent Māori Studies departments. There was a general sentiment that Māori mātauranga should be studied by Māori people, particularly in the fields of anthropology and archeology.[35] The history of traditional Māori scientific advancements is taught at a tertiary level at Victoria University of Wellington[36] and Canterbury University.[37]

Under colonisation Māori people, and women in particular, were treated as subjects rather than as creators of scientific knowledge, a treatment which continues to affect the sociological context of Māori women in science to this day.[38] Notable women in the field of traditional Māori science include Makereti Papakura, who wrote a thesis on the Māori people, and Rina Winifred Moore, the first female Māori doctor in New Zealand.[26] The Royal Society Te Apārangi also identifies 150 women and their notable contributions to New Zealand in the field of science.[39]

In 2021, The Listener published a letter titled "In Defence of Science", co-signed by several New Zealander scientists including Douglas Elliffe, Kendall Clements, Garth Cooper, Michael Corballis, Elizabeth Rata, Robert Nola, and John Werry. The letter came in response to the proposed inclusion of Mātauranga Māori in the school curriculum on equal terms with "other bodies of knowledge", with the authors arguing that Mātauranga Māori "falls far short of what can be defined as science itself", and disputing "the notion that science is a Western European invention and itself evidence of European dominance over Māori and other indigenous peoples."[40] The Letter sparked a controversy and calls for expulsions from the Royal Society of New Zealand, ending with Cooper and Eilliffee resigning from the society in protest.[41] The authors were later supported by Richard Dawkins, who argued "New Zealand children will be taught the true wonder of DNA, while being simultaneously confused by the doctrine that all life throbs with a vital force conferred by the Earth Mother and the Sky Father".[42][43]